Still
by SummerRain626
Summary: Daryl, Beth and Abby Grimes get out together after the fall of the prison. See how things would be different with this trio :) O/C
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except Abby!**

 **Let's do this one more time!….maybe ;) Takes place during and after the attack at the prison. You might want to read my story, Abby before this one. I wasn't sure if I was going to post this or not. I'm having a hard time letting go of my O/C. I hope you enjoy this story! Please review afterwards and tell me what you thought! Tell me anything!**

* * *

"What do you think is going on out there?"

"I have no idea." Glenn said. "Just stay here."

"I just wish I could see." I said trying to look out the window. "The curiosity is killing me."

All of sudden we could hear tons of gunfire and people yelling.

"Get down!" Glenn yelled to me.

"Oh my God! What the hell is going on?" I yelled.

Maggie appeared, and told us we had to go. She helped Glenn up.

"What's going on?" I yelled for the millionth time.

"It's the Governor, he's come back!" Maggie said.

"What?" I was in shock.

"We need to get to the bus!" Maggie stated.

"Where's Judith?" I said. "I need to find her!" I started to run off. Maggie was yelling for me to come back, but I ignored her. I needed to find my baby sister.

* * *

I looked all over for Judith, but couldn't find her. Hopefully, someone already did and took her to safety. The gunfire has kind of died down.

"Abby!"

I turned to see Beth.

"Beth, have you seen Judith?" I was frantic.

"No, but we gotta leave now!" She grabbed my arm, and we ran to the exit.

Once we got outside, I stopped her.

"Wait, where's my dad and brother?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry, we gotta g-…Abby wait!" Beth yelled to me as I ran away.

Suddenly, I saw Daryl. "Daryl!" I yelled. He quickly stood in front of me and looked around for the enemy trying to cover me. "Have you seen my dad or brother?"

"No." He answered roughly.

 _Damn it!_ I thought. I looked around. Beth caught up with me and was running over to us.

"I was trying to find the kids to get them on the bus." She stated.

"We gotta go, girls." Daryl said. "We gotta go."

"But what about my dad?" I asked.

"He would want you safe, come on!"

I gave him a nervous look and bit my lip. Taking a deep breath, I looked around. I didn't see anyone. Daryl's right, we have to go. I looked back at him and nodded.

The three of us ran off together.

* * *

We ran deep into the woods. We passed walkers on the way, but we didn't kill any of them. It's smart to save energy right now. Neither of us has any food or water or any supplies at all for that matter. Beth has a gun.

We kept running. I was behind everyone. I guess with me just getting over that terrible sickness, I was a little out of shape. I was getting very tired and out of breath.

Beth almost ran right into a walker; she quickly put her gun up and pulled the trigger, but it was empty. Daryl killed it with his crossbow. "Go!" He yelled to us.

Now Daryl was behind with Beth in front. I just followed where she was running. We ran through a field. I don't know how much longer I can go. Just as I had that thought, Beth collapsed onto the ground gasping for air. I was about to tell her to get up and keep running, but then Daryl did the same thing.

 _What the hell!_ I thought. I laid on the ground panting and looked up at the birds that were circling above us in the sky.

 _Damn._ I thought. _The prison is gone and we are all separated. That was our home for so long. That was my family for so long, too._

* * *

The three of us were walking through the woods now. We were far enough away that we didn't have to run anymore. Well…for now.

"We have to start looking for the others." Beth said out of nowhere.

"No." I said taking a deep breath. "We need supplies. We won't last long without water. That comes first."

"Our friends come first!" Beth snapped.

I gave her an annoyed look. I obviously know that our people are more important, but I don't think she realizes the seriousness of our situation right now. "If we don't have food and water or even weapons, we won't GET to them because we won't have the energy."

Beth glared at me and was about to say something, but Daryl cut her off. "No. You're both wrong."

I gave him a weird look. He looked up at the sky and sighed. "We got about an hour of daylight left. We set up camp."

I looked around. _Was he serious?_ There wasn't anything to protect us but the trees. And there's only three of us to watch each other's backs. "Here?" I asked him.

"We pass any motels on the way?" He raised his eyebrows at me. I glared back at him.

"What about Maggie?" Beth asked. "She was on the bus."

"Yeah, did you see the bus anywhere?" Daryl said sarcastically.

Beth didn't answer, she made a weird sound that could have been a whimper.

"It's okay." I said trying to comfort her. "We'll figure something out." I nodded. I watched Daryl walk away. _Why is he acting like that?_

* * *

The three of us were sitting by a small fire we built. It was now dark outside, none of us talking. To tell you the truth, I still wasn't feeling very well and…I missed my dad and Carl. I could tell the same for Beth. Maggie was the only family she had left. And Daryl, I glanced up at him, he was acting strange. Sort of like closed off.

"We should do somethin'." Beth said quietly at first. When neither of us said anything, she spoke again. "We should do somethin'…We aren't the only survivors. We can't be." She glanced over at me. "Rick, Michonne, they could be out here." She looked back at Daryl. "Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A block."

Daryl nor I said anything again. I was actually a little annoyed. _Why can't she just wait until tomorrow? Well, I guess it is tomorrow, but still…_

"They could've." Beth said more forcefully. "You're a tracker. You can track." She stood up. "Come on. The sun will be up soon. If we head out now, we can—" Beth stopped when she realized Daryl didn't have any intentions on going along with her plan. "Fine." She snapped. "If you won't track, I will." She grabbed her knife and took off into the woods. I watched her figure disappear into the darkness.

I looked back at Daryl, he finally looked at me then his eyes were back on the fire. I sighed and slowly stood up. Pulling out my knife, I said, "we can't just let her go alone." I walked off into the dark woods after her.

I heard a twig snap behind me and quickly turned around, it was just Daryl. I sighed in relief. I'm glad he came, too.

* * *

We walked around for hours until it got light out. Daryl was right when he said, 'huntin' in the dark's no good.' I was starting to feel really shitty again. I don't say a word, though. I keep my issues to myself. We have enough problems as it is.

Daryl crouched down and blew away some leaves on the ground. He revealed a small footprint. My eyes went wide.

"Could be Luke's." Beth said. "Or Molly's. Whoever they are, it means they're alive."

"No." Daryl said. "This means they were alive four or five hours ago."

"They're alive." Beth snapped. She walked off angrily. We followed.

Daryl found more tracks. "They picked up the pace right here."

"Meaning?" Beth asked.

"They were running from something." I answered. "Probably walkers."

Suddenly, we heard leaves bustling. I didn't miss Beth tense up. I pulled out my knife, as did Beth.

"It's close." Daryl stated.

The three of us spread out a little looking out for the walker. I turned when I heard Beth yell. There was a walker right on her! I ran to help but Daryl was there first. He couldn't get a clear shot because Beth was moving around too much and didn't want to accidentally shoot her, so I ran over to her and tried pulling the walker off her. Now, it was on me and I was struggling. Daryl pulled it off. They fell to the ground, it was a big one. I quickly stabbed the walker in the head with my knife. Daryl threw it aside then nodded at me.

I bent over with my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath. That really wore me out.

"Abby, are you okay?" Beth asked me. I looked up at her. Her eyes widened. "You're really pale." That got Daryl's attention.

I slowly stood up. "I'm fine." I hate drawing attention to myself, so I ignored them and walked on. Just then, I spotted more footprints. "Hey, look." I pointed.

Daryl studied them. "Got out in a hurry. Things went bad."

"Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith." Beth said annoyed.

"Yeah, faith." Daryl scoffed. "Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothin' for yer family."

Beth quickly spun around and gave Daryl a look. I just watched them. Even I was surprised that he said it. No one said anything, they just stared at each other. Daryl had a look on his face that he was sorry he said it. He glanced over at me for a moment.

Beth finally let it go and turned to a bush. She started picking berries. "They'll be hungry when we find them."

Daryl pulled out his bandana and handed it to Beth for her to use it for the berries. I guess that was his way of apologizing for what he said to her.

After that, we moved on.

Daryl stopped and stared at a bush. I finally noticed what he was looking at. There was blood.

"What?" Beth asked him.

"That ain't walker blood." Daryl replied.

"The trail keeps goin'." Beth said. "They fought them off."

I realized what Daryl was trying to say. I don't think the owner of the small footprints is still breathing. "Beth." I said then sighed. She ignored me and walked on. Daryl and I shared a look. I sighed again. _I gotta hand it to her, she really does have faith._ "I think it's time to consider—

"They're alive and we're gonna find 'em." Beth said cutting me off.

"No." Daryl said. "Got walker tracks all up and down here. At least a dozen of them."

"Come on." Beth said still not giving up.

We walked out of the woods and saw train tracks. There were a few walkers there eating remains of people. Small ones. Beth was just staring at the scene in front of us. I looked down sadly then put a hand on her shoulder.

Daryl looked very angry, he walked over and killed the few walkers. Suddenly, Beth started crying. Hard. I felt sad, too, but not enough to cry. I guess it was more disappointment then sadness.

Daryl just started walking away like nothing even happened. He made a gesture for us to follow him. I looked at Beth and was about to tell her to come on, but when I saw her state, I just stood there and let her cry. Daryl stopped when he realized we were not behind him. I looked to and from Beth and Daryl. I was in the middle…again.

* * *

Sometime later, we were back in the woods. I was feeling even worse than before. I really need some water and maybe a little food.

"I'm gonna go see if I can scare up some game before it gets dark." Daryl informed us. "That's what we shoulda been doin' instead of lookin' for people we all knew was dead." He gave Beth a dirty look.

"They ain't all dead." She snapped back.

I sense an argument about to happen. I really don't feel like listening to this right now, especially with how I feel. "Hey, yeah, I don't feel very good." I had to finally say something. I can't take it anymore.

"Well, they might as well be 'cause I ain't chasin' ghosts no more." Daryl said ignoring what I just said.

"Guys." I tried again.

"Fine, me an' Abby will look then." Beth said.

I suddenly got dizzy and lightheaded. "I might actually pass out." I was getting a little frantic.

"Go ahead then." Daryl said to Beth. "Good luck!"

I started to see black dots that soon took over my vision. "Oh shit."

* * *

I opened my eyes and saw the sky. I moaned while slowly sitting up, there was an old shirt under my head.

"Oh, you're awake." Beth said and smiled. "How ya feelin'?"

"What happened?" I looked around. Daryl was sitting across from me.

"You passed out." She informed me. "Here, have some water." She handed me a bottle of water. I gave her an almost shocked look.

"Where'd you get this?" I asked taking a sip.

"Found a shed. Daryl got some squirrels so eat up. You gotta build up your strength." I didn't say anything. I grabbed some squirrel meat and gobbled it down. I was so hungry. I'm not exactly sure it hit the spot. I did feel a little better, though.

"So, what's the plan now?" I asked a little later. "Is this home? The woods?"

"I'm not stayin' in the woods." Beth said lowly. Daryl didn't say anything.

"Where else are we gonna go?"

"Anywhere but here." She said.

* * *

The next day, we walked around in a neighborhood searching for food and supplies. We weren't having much luck. The three of us were standing in a backyard. Just then, I spotted a cooler and perked up. Maybe there's some drinks in there. I opened it only to discover that the only thing inside were water balloons. I mean…it was filled with them. My shoulders slumped in disappointment. _What a waste._ I looked up at Daryl and Beth and neither one seemed to be paying attention to me. And they both looked…lost. It was clear that Beth was unhappy and Daryl just looked angry all the time. I had to do something, I had to try to cheer them up. That's when I got a fantastic idea and smirked. _Maybe not._ Beth was looking down at something not paying attention to me at all. I picked up a water balloon and nailed her right in the chest. She gasped immediately because I guess it startled her. Then, she looked up at me when she realized what I had done. I smiled at her. "Sorry, I just had to." I laughed. Daryl was looking at me too.

Beth looked angry at first, she huffed and grabbed a water balloon and quickly threw it in my direction. I dodged it though. "Oh!" I said and laughed. She threw a few more but missed every time. I was laughing pretty hard.

Suddenly, Beth made a serious face and pointed behind me. "What's that?" She said. I glanced behind me but didn't see anything. I turned back and shrugged and was about to say something but she threw the water balloon right in my face. She laughed hysterically.

"Alright, it's on now." I laughed. We threw more at each other and laughed while doing it. Just when I was about to throw another, I felt my wrist being grabbed. I turned to face Daryl.

"We ain't got time fer this." He said roughly and scowled at me. "Both of ya quit foolin' around and knock it off!"

I just stared at Daryl for a moment after that. Then, Beth and I shared a look. I felt slick just then and threw the water balloon I was holding right at Daryl's neck. Beth and I laughed loudly. Daryl just glared at me and wiped the water where it splashed on his chin. "Come on." I smirked and nudged him with my elbow. Then, I opened his palm and sat a water balloon in. "Come on. _Come on. COME ON!"_ I smiled. He REALLY needs to loosen up some. It's ridiculous. "Come on." I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head a little. Finally, his hand came crashing down on the top of my head, the water balloon breaking and soaking me. I heard Beth laughing hard. I looked up at Daryl and smiled. He still looked the same just not as mad, maybe just annoyed?

Just then, I felt another water balloon hit me and looked at Beth. She was smiling. "Hey." I said. I picked up some more. "It's on now." I looked at both of them and backed up while grinning.

I threw one at Beth and then one at Daryl. He glared at me then Beth did the same to him. We laughed. "Come on." I said again. He seemed to hesitate then exhaled sharply through his nose. For a second, I thought he was going to leave but then he put his crossbow on his back and grabbed some of the water balloons. "Yes!" I said happily. He wailed one at me instantly. It actually kind of hurt. So, I threw one back but he dodged it only to be surprised by Beth throwing one at him. He looked almost surprised at her.

And then…it was on. We all spread out and continued our battle. Neither one of us chose a side; we were all one man for himself, which made things a little more interesting, if you get what I mean?

Daryl threw those things at an unnecessary speed and they actually hurt when they hit you. I wonder if he was doing it on purpose? Anyway, I tried to do it back to him, but I bet they didn't hurt him as much.

Beth and I were laughing the whole time. I even think Daryl relaxed a little and let himself have some fun for once. I think he even smirked at one point. I don't know, though, I could have just been seeing things. What I do know is, we were all having fun. It was a good time and a lighter moment; something that made us forget the situation we were in right now.

"Did I see you smile just now or was that just a mirage?" I teased Daryl. I missed the look he gave me because Beth got me right in the side of the head. I looked at her, she was out, so was Daryl. I still had one left in my hand.

"Oh no." She laughed.

"Oh no, is right." I said. I pulled my arm back and aimed it at her then threw it as hard as I could. She squealed and ducked. The water balloon hit a walker that was right behind Beth. I immediately gasped and my eyes went wide. _How didn't we see it?_ "Oh shit! Beth, look out!" I yelled and pointed. She looked up fearfully just as the walker grabbed onto her. She squealed. Daryl and I ran to help her but I was grabbed from behind as well. "Wha the fuck?" I spun and saw more walkers! "Shit!" I yelled. I quickly stabbed that one then fought the next one. I was struggling at first but then I was able to stab it. I saw two arrows go through the heads of the last two. Things got quiet as I caught my breath.

Daryl collected his arrows then turned to me. He glanced at both of us before saying, "this is why we cain't stop and have fun!" He snapped. "Quit bein' stupid and let's go." He started to walk away. I stood there for a minute with my head down. _Damn._ I thought. _I thought things were getting better for once._ I had forgotten that moments like that don't last very long anymore.

We moved on after that.

Later that night, we sat by the fire again. None of us talking. Just like before.

* * *

 **Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This is just going to be a short spin-off of my story, Abby. Please review and tell me your thoughts! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

We spent last night in the trunk of a car. Yes, that's right, in the trunk. It was a super tight space with the three of us, but we had to do it. A storm came through and so did a herd of walkers. It was the only available hiding place at the time. It got really hot in there, and I couldn't wait to get out. I could tell Beth was scared, Daryl was pissed and I was just anxious. Anxious to get out of that situation.

In the morning, we set up camp in the woods. Daryl went hunting while Beth built a fire and I strung hubcaps and tied them around trees.

"That should do it." I said putting up the last one and wiping the sweat off my forehead. We will be able to hear if any walkers are coming.

I looked over to see how Beth was doing with the fire. I saw a small flame that grew quickly. "Nice." I said as I walked over to her.

"Thanks." She smiled. "Good job with the security."

I nodded then looked around. "I wonder how Daryl's doing? There can't be much left out here."

"Yeah, I hope he gets somethin'."

Daryl came back with a snake. I never tried snake meat before. It didn't look too appetizing.

We sat around the fire eating. The snake wasn't that bad. Not my first choice, but it was something. I kind of just picked at mine. I could tell Beth didn't like it at all. She took a few bites and threw it aside. I watched Daryl eat it like it was nothing. It kind of made me sick. Speaking of Daryl, he's been acting really strange lately. Like closed off and cold. He's barely said a word since the other day. I'm a little worried about him to be honest. I just sadly looked at him.

"I need a drink." Beth said. I looked over at her. Daryl threw her the only water bottle that we had without even looking up at her. "No, I mean a real drink." Beth said tossing it aside. "As in alcohol."

I gave her a questioning look.

"I've never had one." She said again.

"What really? Never?"

She shook her head. "'Cause of my dad."

 _Oh that's right! Hershel was an alcoholic._

"I wanted to try some before but Maggie wouldn't let me. But they're not exactly around anymore, so…I thought we could go find some."

I looked at Daryl. He just continued eating his snake meat. I looked back at Beth, she looked desperate. I could tell that this is something she needed to do. So, I decided to go along with it. "You know, that's not a half bad idea." I started. "I could use a drink, it's been a long time since I had one." I let out a small laugh. "It's as good a time as any."

I waited to see what Daryl had to say to that, but he was unresponsive. He was just gnawing at his food. I glanced over at Beth, she was staring at Daryl, too. She sighed then looked at me. I shrugged.

"Okay." She finally said then stood up. "Well, enjoy your snake jerky." She grabbed her knife and started to walk off. I looked to Daryl to see if he was going to go after her or even try to stop her, but he didn't. He acted as if nothing even happened. I shook my head.

I looked in the direction Beth went then back to Daryl. He's not budging. I sighed. She can't go by herself. "Beth, wait up." I called then followed her.

"Hey." I said once I caught up with her.

"He's a jerk." She said referring to Daryl.

I sighed and looked down. "He's just upset right now and doesn't know how deal with it."

Beth scoffed. All of a sudden, we heard moans. There was a small group of walkers headed our way. We quickly hid behind the trees, they didn't notice us.

I silently counted the walkers. There were five of them. "We can take them." I whispered.

Beth shook her head. She picked up a rock and threw it in the opposite direction. The walkers heard it and started going the other way. I raised my eyebrows. "Good thinkin'." I whispered and nudged her.

Just then, we heard a twig snap behind us and quickly turned around. It was just Daryl, he was ready with his crossbow. He kind of glared at us, then walked away. I guessed we were supposed to follow him. "Come on." I said to Beth.

"That was smart of you to do that." I said.

Beth gave me a weird look.

"The rock."

"Oh, yeah, thanks." She smiled. Then, she looked to Daryl. "I think we made it away. I'm pretty sure we got to go that way to find the booze." She pointed then walked into the "hubcap fence" I built.

 _What? We're back? Damn it, Daryl!_

"What the hell?" Beth said.

"You brought us back?" I said.

"I'm not staying in this suck-ass camp!" Beth said again. To my surprise, she gave Daryl the finger and tried to walk away, but Daryl grabbed her arm.

"Hey! You had yer fun." He said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Do you feel anythin'? Yeah, you think everythin's screwed. I guess that's a feelin'. So you want to spend the rest of our lives starin' into a fire and eatin' mud snakes?"

I snorted and crossed my arms. "Fuck that." They both looked at me for a second.

"We might as well do somethin'." Beth continued. "I can take care of myself and I'm gonna get a damn drink." She turned and walked off. I had to try to hide my smirk. I have never seen her like that before. Daryl glared at me so I just shrugged then followed Beth. I could tell he didn't want to leave, and I felt bad for him because I know he does have feelings, he just doesn't know how to show them. But I also understand Beth's side. I don't mean to take her side over his, I just think we should at least do _something._

Like I said, I'm always in the middle.

* * *

It was quiet for a long time, too quiet for me. It made things awkward. So, I decided to say something as we were walking. "So…you seriously never even had a drop of alcohol before?" I asked Beth.

She glanced at me for a second, then looked away and sighed. It was almost as if she was remembering something. "My dad, when he talked about his drinkin' days, he was so sad. Ashamed." She started. "When I was at parties in high school, I was afraid he would roll up and see me with a beer in my hand. Could just picture the look in his eyes. Couldn't do it. Wouldn't even hold one of those red party cups. Always had a can 'a soda just in case."

I gave her a sympathetic look. "I get it." I said and nodded. "And I kind of admire you for that. You remind of my one friend, she never touched alcohol either." I swallowed remembering her, she was a good friend of mine. _Don't think about it._ I told myself. I shook that thought and cleared my throat before speaking. "Not me though. I always drank at parties. Not that I'm proud of it or anything—

"Ain't nothin' to be proud of." Daryl said cutting me off. I was surprised that he actually spoke. "I seen a lot 'a drunks in my life. The worst kinda drunks. So be happy you ain't like them." He spoke roughly. He looked at me as he passed.

I stopped and looked at him for a minute. "I said I'm not proud." I said under my breath. I don't know what his problem is. I didn't do anything to him.

* * *

We made it out of the woods and found a golf course and a small building that must be the clubhouse.

"Golfers like to booze it up, right?" Beth asked.

Daryl didn't say anything and I shrugged. We heard moans and turned around. There were a bunch of walkers headed our way.

"Come on." Beth said. The three of us hurried up to the building. "Might be people inside." She looked in the window then tried opening the door but it was locked. The walkers were getting closer. We hurried around to another entrance. Daryl opened the door and looked inside.

"Come on." He said. It must be safe. Beth went in first then I quickly closed the door behind me. Daryl put a golf club in the handles so the walkers couldn't get in.

I looked around. There were walkers hanging from the ceiling, they must have hanged themselves when they were alive. I grimaced.

There was stuff thrown everywhere. Jewelry, clothes, etc. It's hard to believe with all this stuff, I couldn't find anything useful. The only thing we found were flashlights. Daryl was shoveling items into a backpack.

"Why are you keepin' all that stuff?" Beth asked him.

He didn't answer her. Suddenly, the walkers were at the door and trying to get in. We hurried out of the room and locked the door.

I found a room that was sort of like a kitchen. I opened a drawer and found silverware. They had knives. _Aw, yeah._ I thought. I grabbed three of them. Just then, I heard a scream, it sounded like Beth. It startled me. "Beth?" I called. It sounded like she was struggling with a walker. I was about to run but I tripped on something and the knives I had slid under a cabinet. "Damn it!" I cursed myself.

I ran down the hall just in time to see Beth kill the walker. Daryl was there, too. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She said out of breath. "Thanks for the help." She looked at Daryl.

"You said you could take care of yourself." He shined a flashlight on the dead walker. "You did." Then walked away.

I sighed and look at Beth. I raised my eyebrows. He really _is_ being a jerk.

We followed Daryl into another room, it looked like a gift shop. Beth found a rack of clothes and changed her shirt.

"I'm with you on that." I said. I changed out of my sweaty, dirty tank top and into a clean t-shirt. I felt somewhat better.

We saw a mannequin with a dead lady's head on it and a sign that said, "rich bitch." Beth tried taking it down. "Help me take her down." She said to us.

"It don't matter." Daryl said. "She's dead."

I'm kind of with Daryl on that one.

"It does matter." Beth snapped.

Daryl sighed and picked up a blanket. "Here." He put it over her.

Beth looked at me. I smiled. We began walking away. "See, I told you he had feelings." I whispered to her.

As we were walking down the hall, we heard moans and then walkers emerged! I guess the ones from outside found their way in.

"Move!" Daryl yelled. We ran down the hall into another room. I turned around at some point and realized Daryl stopped to kill the walkers.

"Wait." I said to Beth. She stopped. We watched Daryl go at it. I wondered if I should help him. He didn't really look like he needed help, but I stepped in anyway. I grabbed a walker and stabbed it with my knife.

"Get outta here!" Daryl yelled to me.

"I was trying to help." I said.

"I don't need your help!"

I backed away because he sounded really angry. There was only one walker left. He beat it to death with a golf club and some blood and guts accidentally hit Beth. So much for clean clothes.

We kind of stood there for a moment. I watched Daryl carefully. He totally just took his anger out on those walkers, especially the last one. Beth threw off her bloody sweater then walked out of the room. I took a quick glance at Daryl then followed Beth.

I looked ahead and saw a bar room.

"We made it." Beth said. She turned around and we smiled at each other, then she looked at Daryl. "I know you think this is stupid. And it probably is. But…I don't care."

Daryl wasn't saying anything, just like before. He had that same scowl on his face.

"All I wanted to do today was lay down and cry, but we don't get to do that." Beth continued. "So…beat up on walkers if that makes you feel better. I need to do this." With that said, she walked into the bar and started looking for any alcohol she could find. I doubt she will have any luck. The place was trashed.

I heard glass break. Daryl broke a picture frame to get the paper out. I guess to use for a fire.

"Did you have to break the glass?" Beth asked him.

"No. You have yer drink yet?"

"No. But I found this. Peach schnapps. Is it good?"

"No." Daryl and I said in unison. He gave me a quick look before walking to the other side of the room to play darts.

"Well, it's the only thing left." Beth said sadly.

I gave her a sympathetic look then shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Aren't you gonna have some?"

I shook my head. "Nah."

She sighed and picked up a glass, it was dirty. I slowly walked over to Daryl. He gave me a quick glance. "Hey." I said. He ignored me. "Daryl, why are being so cold?" I whispered so Beth couldn't hear. He glared at me then went back to his game. I walked away from him and sat down. I felt sad and defeated.

"Who needs a glass?" I heard Beth say. I looked up at her, she looked a little unstable. She was about to open the bottle but stopped herself. All of a sudden, she broke down and cried. I looked down in sadness and just listened to her sob.

Everything seemed to pause for a minute. Daryl glanced at me then made his way over to Beth. He grabbed the bottle of peach schnapps and threw it on the floor breaking it to pieces. I was surprised, Beth had the same look I did.

"Ain't gonna have yer first drink be no damn peach schnapps." He said. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Come on."

I brightened up a little. _Has he finally come to his senses?_

Beth wiped her tears away, and I patted her arm as I walked by them.

* * *

"A motorcycle mechanic." Beth said as we were walking along. We were back in the woods.

"Huh?" Daryl said.

"That's my guess. For what you were doin' before the turn. Did Zack ever guess that one?"

Oh right. I remember now. Beth's boyfriend, Zack, back at the prison kept trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn. I don't know what the big deal is? I don't think he did anything.

"It don't matter." Said Daryl. "Hasn't mattered for a long time."

"It's just what people talk about, you know, to feel normal." Beth said.

"Yeah, well, that never felt normal to me." He said. We stopped outside of a small house. "Found this place with Michonne." Daryl said.

"I was expecting a liquor store." Said Beth.

"Yeah, I kinda was, too." I let out a small laugh.

"No, this is better." He answered. We followed Daryl over to a shed. He took out a crate filled with jars of clear liquid and handed it to Beth.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Moonshine." Daryl replied.

 _Oh shit!_

Beth and I shared a look. I could see the excitement in her eyes.

We then walked into the house. Daryl made sure it was safe first.

"All right." Daryl picked up a cup and wiped it out with his shirt. He poured a tiny bit of the moonshine into the glass then sat it in front of Beth. "That's a real first drink right there."

Beth just stared at the cup.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothin'." She started. "It's just…my dad always said bad moonshine can make you go blind."

"Oh shit." I said. "For real? I don't think I'm having any of that."

"Ain't nothin' worth seein' out there anymore anyway." Daryl said roughly.

"Okay, so, you gonna take care of us when we can't see shit?" I asked him.

He sighed. "Will ya just try it already?"

"I don't need to. I had it before."

"Bullshit." He gave me an annoyed look.

"It's true. I had the legal kind _and_ the illegal kind." I bragged.

"Ha. Whatever." Daryl said. We both turned our attention to Beth. She still looked nervous.

"Go ahead if you wanna." I told her.

She finally took a small sip. She grimaced. "That's the most disgustin' thing I've ever tasted."

I laughed.

She drank the rest in the cup. "Second round's better." She giggled. She started to pour more into her glass.

"Slow down." Daryl said.

"This one's for you."

"No, I'm good."

She gave him a weird look. "Why?"

"Someone's gotta keep watch."

"Um, hello. There's three of us here." I said.

"Ain't you gonna drink, too?" Daryl asked me.

"No, I shouldn't."

He snorted.

"So, what, you're like our chaperone now?" Beth mocked him.

"Just drink lots of water." He said roughly and walked away.

"Yes, Mr. Dixon." Beth mocked again.

"Watch." I said to Beth. "Oh-kay!" I said in the most annoying voice possible. Daryl looked at me and shook his head. Beth and I laughed.

I went into the living room and sat on the floor. Daryl was boarding up a window. He looked at me. "When did you have moonshine?" He asked me. Beth joined us in the room.

"I've been to tons of high school parties. Oh, and some college parties." I laughed. "I went to those kinds of parties when I wasn't even in high school yet."

"Mhmm." Daryl said.

"I did!" I gave him a look. "But, anyway…my friend's uncle got some. They had fruit soaked in it. I just remember eating it then all of a sudden, I couldn't lift my head off the table. I must have passed out there because I remember waking up and my neck hurt real bad."

Daryl kind of laughed.

"I have a good question for you." I said to Daryl. "If it was not…how it is now, like it was the normal world before this…and I saw you in a parking lot or something and asked you to get me alcohol, would you do it?" I don't know why I asked him, I just thought it would be funny.

"Nah." He answered immediately.

"Why?" I kind of laughed.

"Cuz," he turned to me, "yer dad's a cop. I ain't tryin' to go to jail."

"But you don't know that my dad's a cop." I smirked. "You don't know me yet."

"Still no."

"Why?" I asked more forcefully this time.

"Cuz ya don't need it." He gave me a stupid look.

I pretended to be offended. "Well…" I said with a hand up.

I heard Beth laugh next to me. "Who'd go into a store and walk out with this?" She held up a flower pot that was a bra. Someone had used it as an ash tray.

"My dad, that's who." Daryl said. "Oh, he's a dumbass. He'd set those up on top of the TV set, use them as target practice."

"He shot things inside your house?" I asked.

"It was just a bunch of junk anyway." He continued. "That's how I knew what this place was. That shed out there, my dad had a place just like this."

"So, you got taken to the wood shed?" I teased.

He cleared his throat and ignored my question. "You got yer Dumpster chair. That's for sittin' in and yer drawers all summer drinkin'. Got yer fancy buckets. That's for spittin' chaw in after yer old lady tells ya to stop smokin'."

"Ew, the guys at my school would chew all the time. They would fling it at the wall and stuff. I think that shit's nasty." I grimaced. "I remember my friend, Joe, from study hall spit on the floor. I was like, ewww. So, I started bringing him empty water bottles or ice tea cartons so he wouldn't spit on the floor anymore. 'Cause I had lunch right before study hall." I laughed.

Beth laughed.

"You got yer internet." Daryl held up a newspaper.

"I had real internet." I said. "No one reads the paper anymore."

"Do you have a comment fer everythang?" Daryl teased me.

Just then, we heard a walker outside. Daryl looked out the window. "It's just one of 'em."

"Should we get it?" Beth asked.

"If he keeps makin' too much noise, yeah."

"Well, if we're gonna be trapped again, we might as well make the best of it." Beth said again. "Unless you're too busy chaperoning, Mr. Dixon." She handed each of us a jar of moonshine.

"Hell, might as well make the best of it." Daryl said and took it.

She looked at me.

"Fine." I gave in and took the jar. She giggled.

Daryl sat down in the arm chair. "Home, sweet home." He took a sip.

"Did you and Michonne get drunk here?" I asked Daryl.

Daryl snorted. "No." I laughed.

"Abby, tell us a story?" Beth said out of nowhere.

I shook my head. "I won't be able to think of any right now."

"Oh, come on! You have the best stories."

"Well, what do you want me to tell? I need a subject so I can think of one."

"I don't know. Tell us about one of your parties." She said.

"Okay." I swallowed hard while trying to think. "Oh! So, this one time…

* * *

"A plumber?" Beth said to Daryl out of nowhere. I don't know why she's trying to guess so badly.

"Nah." Daryl said and shook his head.

"A teacher?" She then asked.

Daryl gave her a stupid look, then Beth laughed. To me, it looked like Daryl was possibly getting a little annoyed and I didn't want him getting all closed off again so I decided to tell them about what I did. "Do you wanna know what _I_ did before this?" I grinned.

Beth gave me a stupid look. "Uh…yeah, you were in high school. Just like me."

I blinked a few times. "Well, yeah, but…I had a job."

"You did?" Beth's eyes widened a little.

"Yup." I smiled. "I was a lifeguard."

"Yeah, right."

"I was!" I said with raised eyebrows. Now it was my turn to be annoyed. _Does she really not believe me? I mean…she didn't know me before this._

"Don't you have to go to trainin' fer that?"

"I did. In school. I got my certification." I said matter of factly. I was still a little bit annoyed that she didn't believe me.

"So…you know like CPR and stuff?"

"Yeah." I shrugged. Then, I got my humor back and smiled. "If you were both drowning, I'd be able to save you." I took a sip of the moonshine. "At the same time." I laughed. Beth laughed too.

"Well, did you like it?"

I thought about her question while taking another sip of my moonshine. I don't know if I liked it. I didn't hate it but I didn't particularly _like_ it. I had to do a lot of annoying shit while I worked there. I took a breath before answering. "No." I shook my head and smiled. "Not really but it was money."

Daryl snorted. I looked at him, I realized he was being very quiet.

"Really? You didn't like it?" Beth asked me. I turned to her. "How come?"

"Because…" I paused and gave her a look. "I had to fish poop out of that pool like everyday because parents don't keep their kids on leashes like they should, I had to pretty much be a janitor there too." I stopped to think some more. "Uh, let's see…oh yeah, the slushy machine broke one time and the slushy goo was everywhere! And people are just dumbasses. Like this one guy shoved a chicken nugget in his mouth and then jumped in the pool and started choking on it. So, I had to jump in and save him." I finished rolling my eyes. Beth was laughing the whole time, Daryl even smirked.

"Wait, wait." Beth finally stopped laughing. "I need to hear about some of this. You had to be a janitor, too?"

"Pretty much." I raised my eyebrows.

"Did you have to clean the locker rooms?" She asked me.

I sighed heavily. "Yes. It was disgusting." I took a sip of the moonshine then laughed because I remembered a specific memory. "One time, I was in the guy's locker room cleaning and this man stuck his head in and was like, 'is there someone in there?' And I said, 'Yeah, I'm cleaning the sink.' And he for real was like, 'well, hurry up. I need to get my shower.' And I was like, 'Go home!' Like what do you mean?" I laughed. Beth laughed too.

"Yeah, like why didn't he just go home and shower?"

"Right." I said. "And then another time, I was in there and this fat, hairy guy came in and I was like, 'um…you can't be in here when I'm in here', and he just completely ignored me and started taking his clothes off. And he was looking at me while he was taking his clothes off! Like he wanted me to look at him."

"Ew, what?" Beth said.

"Mm." Daryl started to say. "That shouldn't be allowed." I looked at him surprised that he finally said something. "He shouldn't 'a been able to be in 'nere when you was in 'nere."

"They're not." I said wide-eyed. "Well, I mean…they _weren't_. I had a sign that said there's a female custodian inside so no one is allowed to go in but they didn't care. They just went in anyway." I shook my head. "Then, I'd tell them to leave and they'd get mad."

"Well, tough." Daryl said roughly. "Perverts and pedophiles everywhere. That guy coulda done somethin' to you."

I just stared at him for a moment. _It's almost like he cares._ Then Beth said, "okay. I wanna hear about the slushy machine story."

I turned to her and shrugged. "There's not much to tell about that." I took a sip. "My friend that worked the snack shake started yelling for me to come help him because there was something wrong with the machine and he couldn't stop it. I don't know what he thought I was going to do?" I took a breath. "We finally got it to stop but we were both covered in slushy goo." I stopped. Beth laughed. "I was blue, he was red." I took a sip of my drink. "And then we made purple." I laughed. Beth looked at me, her jaw dropped. "Nah, just kidding. I didn't do that." I waved and laughed. Daryl narrowed his eyes at me. I continued to laugh.

I took a deep breath and stopped for a second. "Seriously, though," I started again but serious this time, "my first day on the job…this guy tried to do a back flip off the side of the pool and slipped and face planted on the concrete…" I trailed off and looked at Beth, her eyes were wide. Daryl actually looked interested too. "So, he was laying there in the pool and he didn't look like he was moving at all and I saw blood so I immediately jumped in but when I turned him over…" I trailed off remembering that gruesome sight. I swallowed hard then continued. "His face was like…completely split in half…Like I could see his whole teeth."

"Oh my God." Beth said lowly. She put a hand over her mouth and looked away. Daryl was just looking at me but his expression was softer. Maybe this wasn't the best story to tell right now. Things got awkward so I tried to end it quickly. I cleared my throat. "I heard he lived for three days after that then died in the hospital. There was nothing they could do for him." I said shaking my head. "I mean…yeah." Daryl nodded. "Still, I felt really bad for that guy. And that kind of bothered me for a while after that."

Beth gave me a sort of sad smile and Daryl was just looking at me. I couldn't read his expression. It made me feel awkward. "But on a lighter note," I started and smiled, "I actually had a job before I was a lifeguard. I got a job at a restaurant as a host but I for real quit on the first day."

"Oh my God." Beth said with a laugh. "Why?" I was relieved that we were back to laughter.

"I just didn't like it…and…the girl that was training me like didn't give a shit about anything so she wasn't training me properly and I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. And then to top it all off, the manager, Teddy," I laughed, "his name was Teddy, he told me that I wasn't being perky enough." I laughed.

"You?" Daryl raised his eyebrows and pointed at me.

"Are you serious?" Beth said.

"Yup." I looked up at the ceiling and scratched my neck. "So, I went home that day and told my parents I hated it and they told me 'then quit' so I called them up and I quit." I said nonchalantly and took a sip of my moonshine. "And I made fifty one dollars working there that day and never got it. And I never gave them their shirt back." I laughed.

There was a brief pause then Beth laughed. I saw Daryl shake his head but he had a smirk on his face.

I sighed. "Yup. So, there's that." I took my knife out and lightly stabbed the carpet with it.

"Yer knife is cool, Abby." Beth said. "I never realized the design on it."

"Oh yeah." I glanced at it quickly. "Thanks. I had it before this." I just remembered about how I got that knife and got a little excited so I thought I would tell them. "Actually," I smiled, "this has a little story to it."

"Yeah?" Beth smiled.

"Of course it does." Daryl said and raised his eyebrows.

I let out a small laugh. "So, anyway, when I was like maybe twelve or thirteen…I went to a flea market with my mom and when I was leaving, a five dollar bill blew off this guy's table while he was counting his money. So, I ran after it and grabbed it and gave it back to him and he was like, 'wow, I thought for sure you were gonna run away with that', and I was like, 'oh, no. It doesn't belong to me'. So, then, he was like all, 'because of that, you can pick anything you want off my table for free.' And I looked around and saw this knife, it reminded me of something off this game I used to play. So, that's what I picked." I smiled. "But…then I had to hide it from my mom because I knew she'd never let me have it." I said the last part quickly.

There was another brief pause. I looked up at Daryl and then at Beth. They were both looking at me. "Is that it?" She said. "No more stories?"

"I'm afraid that's all for now." I said. "But I mean…all ya gotta do is gimme one word and I can talk about it forever."

"Yeah, do ya ever shut up?" Daryl teased.

I sighed and then shrugged. "I guess, when I'm like sleeping."

Beth laughed that I answered his question seriously.

"Well, alright then," I started to say to Daryl and cleared my throat, "why don't you make conversation, Daryl? You're so good at it." I teased back. I sat there quietly waiting for Daryl or even Beth to say something but neither of them did. "Well, look what happens when I don't talk, nobody talks." I smiled. "Guess I'm the life of the party." I batted my eyes at them.

Beth giggled and Daryl snorted. _Yeah, the life of the party. Just like old times._


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl walked away to go do something so I looked at Beth. Her cup was almost empty. "Hey, I dare you to chug the rest of that." I smirked at her.

She looked down at her drink. "What? No way."

"Come on. It's not even a lot." I teased. "Chug with me."

"No, I don't wanna get sick...and I WILL get sick."

She's right. This is her first time drinking after all. I nodded at her. "Sorry. I just...want all of us to get drunk and have fun."

"We will. We're gettin' there. But slowly." She stretched out the word 'slowly'.

I shrugged and thought for a minute. "I'll do it."

"Abby, no, you don't have to." She shook her head. "Yer cup is fuller than mine."

"So what?" I cocked an eyebrow. "I'll do it right now." I grabbed my cup and tipped it, drinking the clear liquid down. It was awful and burning my throat and making my eyes water. "Ugh." I said and slammed my jar down when I was done. "Oh, it burns."

"Good for you." Beth said.

"What happened?" Daryl walked back over.

"Abby chugged the rest of her drink." Beth told him.

I looked up at him. He gave me a kind of scolding look. "So?" I said.

"Yeah, 'so'?" He mocked me. "So, get sick then."

"Alright, I will." I grinned.

* * *

"How have you avoided drinking at parties?" I asked Beth. The three of us were drinking and talking. I was doing most of the talking. She gave me a weird look. "I'm not saying anything bad by it, I just mean…how did you get people off your back? 'Cause there's always that person that's like, 'come on, take a drink. Just have one.' And guys, especially guys! They try to get you drunk so they can take advantage of you. I remember I was at my friend's house and he was trying to get me to drink whiskey, and I can't drink whiskey, it makes me sick. I asked him several times if it would make me sick and he kept saying no. So, I drank a lot of it and it made me so sick. So, I threw up on the side of his house. That's what he gets."

Beth giggled. "I don't know. But I will say this, it wasn't easy."

I let out a small laugh.

"Why you drinkin' around guys like that?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at me.

I gave him a weird look. I was about to say something, but Beth cut me off.

"I have a great idea! Let's play Never Have I Ever!"

"Oh, I hate that game. I always lose." I said.

"What the hell is that?" Daryl asked.

"It's a drinking game." I rolled my eyes.

"I'on wanna play no drinkin' game." Daryl said.

"Neither do I." I said. "Sorry, Beth." She looked disappointed. "Maybe later." I tried. "So, now that you've had your first drink, what do ya wanna do now?"

"What do ya mean?" She asked me.

"You wanna try smokin'?" I smirked.

"No, thanks." She made a face.

"You almost did that one time, remember?" I said referring to that time back at the farm when we first met.

"Yeah, I remember." She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"You tried to get her to smoke weed?" Daryl asked me with his eyes narrowed.

I glanced at Beth quickly. I don't think she knows about me smoking weed. "No." I said back to Daryl. "They were just cigarettes."

"Ya smoke cigarettes too?" He said roughly.

"I used to. Not really anymore." I shrugged.

"You don't need to be doin' that. Ya wanna sound like me?"

I blinked at him a few times. _Why does he care if I smoke?_ "I just said that I don't." I gave him an annoyed look then took a sip of my moonshine. I let out a little laugh because I just remembered something. "Although," I started, "back when I used to, I went outside one night to smoke and I didn't want my family to know that I smoked so I was like on the side of the house and I thought I heard footsteps, but at first I just thought it was my neighbor taking his dog out so I just shrugged if off. But then, they sounded like they picked up. Like they got faster and closer, so I got a little freaked out and walked towards the back door and then they got even faster! Like there was definitely someone running at me. So, I threw the damn cigarette down and ran inside and told everyone and no one was concerned. Like no one. You'd think my dad would be out there looking but nope. They just pretty much all ignored me. Said it was probably a cat but there was NO way that was a frickin' cat! Those footsteps were heavy as hell." I looked down. "I was so mad at them." I took a gulp of my drink. "But...yeah, I don't smoke anymore."

"Better not." Daryl said.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What are you? My dad?" He didn't answer.

I heard Beth giggle. "Abby, yer drunk."

"Whatever." I said and took another sip. "If that person would have shown themself, I would have thrown a rock right at their face."

"You was allowed to do that, ya know?" Daryl said. "If someone's on yer property, you could do that."

"That's the thing, though, I couldn't see 'em, so I don't if they were." I paused and took another drink. We got quiet for a minute.

"Can we please play Never Have I Ever?" Beth said.

I sighed. "Fine."

* * *

We switched our positions on the floor so we could all be more comfortable.

"So, first, I say somethin' I've never done and if you have done it, you drink, and if you haven't, I drink." Beth explained to Daryl. "Then we switch. You really don't know this game?"

"I never needed a game to get lit before." He said roughly.

"Wait, are we starting?" I asked.

"How do _you_ know this game?" Daryl asked Beth.

"That's a good question." I gave Beth an amused look.

"My friends played." She said. "I watched. Okay, I'll start." She thought for a minute. "I've never…shot a crossbow. So now you drink." She pointed at Daryl. "And Abby if you have."

"Ain't much of a game." He said.

"That was a warm-up." She said. "Now you go."

"Ladies first." He looked at me.

I sighed and smiled. "Okay. Um…I never…jeez what haven't I done?" I laughed. I thought for a minute. "Okay, this is really dumb but…I never rode on a horse before the turn."

Beth gave me an annoyed look. "You know I have."

"I couldn't think of anything."

"Yeah, but still…"

"Well, you knew he shot a crossbow! But you still said that."

She sighed and took a drink. I looked at Daryl. "You never rode on a horse before this?"

"Nope. I hate horses."

I laughed. "Yeah, I was afraid to because my friend got badly injured while riding a horse one time. It went through two trees and her legs didn't fit but the horse didn't stop."

Beth grimaced.

"Yeah, so…if that horse would have done that to me, I would have sold it to the glue factory."

Daryl laughed but Beth glared at me.

"All right." She said. "Daryl's turn."

We turned our attention to him. I was actually a little curious as to what he would say.

"I don't know." He said. He was chewing on the skin around his finger.

"Just say the first thing that pops into your head." Beth said.

"I've never been out of Georgia." Daryl said.

"Really?" Beth asked. "Okay, good one." She took a sip.

"That _was_ a good one." I took a drink. "Oh, I have a good one for my next turn! But it's your turn now, Beth."

I've never…been drunk and did somethin' I regretted." Beth said.

Daryl took a drink. "I've done a lot of things."

"Me too." I laughed and took a drink. "Wait, what kind of stuff, Daryl?" I asked him sweetly.

"Never mind." He said embarrassed. "Take yer turn. Let's hear yer good one."

I laughed. "I've never slept over a friend's house."

"WHAT?" Beth practically yelled.

"I never have." I shook my head.

She was giving me a stupid look. "And you were givin' me crap about never drinkin' before?"

I threw my hands up. "I just don't like sleepovers. I've always been really particular when it comes to sleep and I have trouble falling asleep in unfamiliar places. Plus, I always thought it was pointless. I had my own bed and own room, why do I wanna go sleep in someone else's? I don't know, I just don't do the sleepover thing."

Beth and Daryl both took a drink once I finished.

"You went to a sleepover?" Beth asked him.

"Nah, but I've crashed at people's houses."

"Your turn, Daryl." I said to change the subject. That was more awkward than I thought it would be. But…I knew I could get both of them out with that.

"I've never been on vacation." Daryl said.

I took a drink.

"What about campin'?" Beth questioned.

"No, that was just somethin' I had to learn to hunt." Daryl replied.

"Yer dad teach you?" She asked.

"Mm-hmm."

"Okay." Beth said and took a sip. I've never…been in jail. I mean, as a prisoner." She let out a nervous laugh.

We were all silent for a moment. Things seemed to get serious.

"Is that what you think 'a me?" Daryl said.

"I didn't mean anythin' serious. I just thought, you know, like the drunk tank. Even my dad got locked up for that back in the day."

"So, you think we have?" I asked. I didn't want things to get sour, so I tried to make it less serious. "Well, wait…do you mean _in_ jail or _at_ jail? Because I've been at jail. I used to go there with my dad occasionally. You know, with he being a cop? I made a friend there that was in jail named Tim. I invited him to my birthday party, but he didn't come."

They both looked at me for a moment then things went right back to serious.

"Drink up." Daryl told her.

"Wait. Prison guard. Were you a prison guard before?" Beth asked Daryl.

He was quiet for a moment. "No."

Things got really awkward after that. I could tell Beth regretted asking that so I decided not to make a big deal about it. "It's your turn again." She said to me.

I tried to think of something. "Uh...I'm gonna skip this round."

"I'm gonna take a piss." Daryl said and got up. He seemed a little angry. _Was he really offended?_ He dropped his jar on the floor.

"You have to be quiet." Beth said.

"Cain't hear you! I'm takin' a piss!" He yelled. He started peeing right there in the kitchen corner.

"Daryl, don't talk so loud." Beth told him.

"What, are you my chaperone now?" He snapped. He finished and started to make his way back over. "Oh, wait. It's my turn, right? I've never…never eaten frozen yogurt. Never had a pet pony. Never got nothin' from Santa Claus."

 _Wait...why is he so pissed off all of a sudden?_ I decided to tease him, maybe it would change his attitude a little. "You mad, bro?" I narrowed my eyes at Daryl and smiled.

He ignored me. "Never relied on anyone for protection before. Hell, I don't thank I've ever relied on anyone for anythang."

"Daryl." Beth tried.

"Never sung out in front of a big group out in public like everythang was fun. Like everythang was a big game. I sure as hell never cut my wrist lookin' for attention."

I gasped and looked at Beth. _Why would he say that?_ "Okay, Daryl, I think you're overreacting just a little—

We heard the walker outside from before.

"Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all of his buddies." Daryl said.

"Daryl, just shut up." Beth said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, you never shot a crossbow before?" Daryl continued his rampage. "I'm gonna teach you right now. Come on." He grabbed Beth by her wrist. "You, too, Life of the Party!" He yelled to me. "It's gonna be fun." He dragged her outside. I followed.

"Hey, we should stay inside." I called to them.

"Daryl, cut it out! Daryl!"

"Dumbass." Daryl said to the walker. "Com'ere, dumbass."

"Daryl." I tried.

"You wanna shoot?" He asked Beth.

"I-I don't know how." She said.

"Oh, it's easy. Com'ere." He grabbed Beth and shot his crossbow. The arrow pinned the walker to the tree.

"Can we not do this now?" I said. "Come on, Daryl."

"Come on, it's fun."

"Just stop it! Daryl!" Beth yelled.

"Com'ere." He grabbed her around the neck and shot again. It hit the walker in the chest. Beth looked really uncomfortable.

I got in between them to try and maybe calm everyone down. "Daryl, stop it. This isn't the time."

"You wanna try? Com'ere." He grabbed me like he did Beth but it was really hard.

"Ow, Daryl!"

He shot the walker again but didn't put it down.

"Just kill it!" Beth scolded.

"Com'ere, girls." He said. "Let's pull these out. Get a little more target practice."

Beth angrily walked over to the helpless walker and put him down.

"What the hell you do that for?" Daryl snapped. "I was havin' fun."

"No, you were bein' a jackass." Beth snapped back. "If anyone found our people—

"Don't." Daryl cut her off. "That ain't remotely the same."

"Killin' them is not supposed to be fun." She yelled again.

"Guys, let's just chill out, okay?" I tried again.

"What do you want from me, girl, huh?" Daryl said.

"I want you to stop actin' like you don't give a crap about anythin'." She said. "Like nothin' we went through matters. Like none of the people we lost meant anythin' to you. It's bullshit!"

"Is that what you think?"

"That's what I know."

I just watched the two of them. I was hoping things didn't get too out of hand.

"You don't know nothin'." Daryl said to her.

"I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl." Said Beth. "I'm not Michonne, or Carol or Maggie. I survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them or even Abby. But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're…afraid."

Daryl walked closer to Beth and got in her face. "I ain't afraid 'a nothin'."

"...I remember. When that little girl came out of the barn...after my mom. You were like me." She said.

I noticed Daryl looked a little upset after she said that. _What is she doing? Is she trying to break him?_ "Beth, what are you doing?"

"And now God forbid you ever let anybody get too close." She continued ignoring my question.

"Too close, huh? You know all about that. You lost two boyfriends, you cain't even shed a tear. Yer whole family's gone, all you can do is go out lookin' for a hooch like some dumb college bitch!"

"Screw you. You don't get it."

"No, you don't get it! Everyone we know is dead!"

"You don't know that!" Beth yelled.

"They're not all dead." I said.

"Might as well be, 'cause you ain't never gonna see 'em again." Daryl yelled.

We were silent for a second. Beth let out a cry. I don't understand what happened? We were all getting along fine then all of a sudden…bam! I don't know why Daryl is being so harsh?

"Rick." He said looking at me.

Something snapped in me when he mentioned my dad. "Fuck off! My dad ain't dead!" I had enough. "And you need to chill out! She didn't even say anything that bad to you. She asked BOTH of us that question. Did I freak out?" He was just glaring at me. "Stop being such an asshole."

"Oh yeah! And what about you?"

I braced myself waiting to get roasted. _If it gets bad, just walk away_. I told myself.

"Yer a saint, ain't ya? Yeah, you don't do nothin' wrong. 'Cept," he scoffed, "get my brother killed."

I was taken aback. "That wasn't my fault." I said angrily. _He even told me it wasn't my fault, so I know he's just saying it because he's angry._

"Course not. Nothin's yer fault. Especially with yer dad always on yer side. Daddy's little girl."

He was beginning to hurt my feelings. I took a deep breath.

"And yer dumb and annoying stories. From now on, keep it to yerself 'cause no one else wants to hear about yer bullshit! You spoiled, self-centered butch!"

My eyes widened. _Butch? I used to get called that by my older cousin, Franky. It always hurt my feelings._ It felt like I was punched in the stomach.

"Hey, while we're at it," Daryl continued, "why don't ya tell yer "best friend" here what ya did with her boyfriend back at the farm? Huh?"

My eyes went way wide and I completely forgot about my feelings being hurt. I quickly turned to face Beth, her eyes were as wide as mine and she was giving me a questioning look.

"What?" She said to me.

I took a few deep breaths knowing that I can't lie my way out of this. I have to tell her the truth. "We kissed." I admitted. Beth's eyes went wide again and she looked down at the ground. "...but-but it was nothing." I started shaking my head and gave her a sad look. She looked back up at me. "He kissed me and...it-it didn't mean anything." I breathed.

Beth took a while to respond. I could tell she was angry but mostly hurt and it hurt me that I hurt her. This is why I never wanted her to know. "It-it doesn't matter anymore. He's gone." She said quietly. I could tell it bothered her, though, and I wondered if things would be different between us now.

I got really pissed off after that and turned to Daryl. "I can't believe you did that." I said angrily.

"What, told the truth?" He snapped. "She don't care anyway."

"Daryl, just stop." Beth shouted. I think she had enough of everything and just wanted it to stop.

"No!" Daryl yelled and pulled away. "The Governor rolled right up to our gates."

I slowly walked away and up onto the porch. They said some other stuff, but I didn't care anymore. He really hurt my feelings and I was pissed.

"Maybe—maybe I could have done somethin'." I heard Daryl say. Beth hugged him from behind. She held him while he cried. I leaned my head against the wooden pole on the porch.

* * *

Beth and Daryl joined me on the porch soon after. I did not talk to either of them. They talked for a little here and there. Then, it got dark out.

"I'm not mad." Beth said out of nowhere. I looked up at her. "I swear I'm not."

 _She's seriously not mad at me? I don't know that I wouldn't be mad if it were the other way around. That's because she's a better person than me._ I tried to give her a smile but it wouldn't work. So, I just nodded.

"I get why my dad stopped drinkin'." Beth said randomly.

"You feel sick?" Daryl asked her.

"Nope. I wish I could feel like this all the time. That's bad."

"Mhmm." Daryl said. "Yer lucky yer a happy drunk."

"Yeah, I'm lucky. Some people can be real jerks when they drink."

"Yeah, I'm a dick when I'm drunk." Daryl smirked.

I snorted. "Got that right." I said quietly.

There was a brief pause.

"Merle had this dealer." Daryl started. "This janky, little, white guy. A tweaker. One day we were over at his house watchin' TV. Wasn't even noon yet and we were all wasted. Merle was high."

 _Oh, so, he can tell stories but I can't?_

 _"_ We were watchin' this show and Merle was talking all this dumb stuff about it. And he wouldn't let up. Merle never could. Turns out it was the tweaker's kids' favorite show. And he never sees his kids, so he felt guilty about it or somethin'. So he punches Merle in the face. So I started hittin' the tweaker, like, hard. As hard as I can. Then he pulls a gun, sticks it right here." He pointed at his head. I sat up a little. "He says, "I'm gonna kill you, bitch." So Merle pulls his gun on him. Everyone's yellin'. I'm yellin'. I thought I was dead. Over a dumb cartoon about a talkin' dog."

"How'd you get out of it?" Beth asked.

"The tweaker punched me in the gut. I puked. They both started laughin' and forgot all about it." Daryl put his head down then looked back up. "You want to know what I was before all this?"

"No, I'm good." I said trying to be a smartass.

"What?" Beth said.

"I was just driftin' around with Merle doin' whatever he said we were gonna be doin' that day. I was nobody. Nothin'. Some redneck asshole with an even bigger asshole for a brother."

 _I called that._ I let out a laugh.

"You miss him, don't you?" Beth asked Daryl referring to Merle. He didn't answer. "I miss Maggie." She continued. "I miss her bossin' me around. I miss my big brother Shawn. He was so annoying and overprotective. And my dad."

I became saddened at the mention of Hershel. He was a good guy. Then, that made me think of my dad. I really miss him.

"I thought—I hoped he'd just live the rest of his life in peace, you know? I thought Maggie and Glenn would have a baby. And he'd get to be a grandpa. And we'd have birthdays and holidays and summer picnics. And he'd get really old. And it'd happen, but it'd be quiet. It'd be okay. He'd be surrounded by people he loved." She put her head back against the pole and looked like she was going to cry again. "That's how unbelievably stupid I am."

"That's how it's supposed to be." I finally spoke. I decided I would talk to Beth. She didn't so anything to me. I just won't talk to Daryl. "I miss my dad, too. So much. We were super close. Always were."

Beth gave me a sad excuse for a smile. "I wish I could just…change."

"You did." Daryl told her.

"Not enough. Not like you. It's like you were made for how things are now."

"I'm just used to it, things bein' ugly. Growin' up in a place like this."

"Well, you got away from it." She said.

"I didn't."

"You did." She pressed.

"Maybe you got to keep on remindin' me sometimes."

"No. You can't depend on anybody for anythin', right?" She said. "I'll be gone someday."

"Stop." Daryl said.

"Yeah, don't say that, Beth."

"I will, though." She said. "You're gonna be the last man standing. You are. And so are you, Abby."

I gave her a surprised look. "Me? I'm not as tough as you think."

"But you will. Just watch. And you guys are gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone."

"You ain't a happy drunk at all." Daryl said.

"Yeah, I'm happy. I'm just not blind. You got to say who you are, not who you were. Places like this, you have to put it away."

"What if ya cain't?" Daryl asked her.

"You have to. Or it kills you. Here." She put her hand over her heart.

I thought about what she just said. It's so easy to do the wrong thing, then you get tough and you feel nothing. "You're right." I said.

The three of us were quiet for a minute.

"We should go inside." Daryl said.

"We should burn it down." Beth said.

 _What? Is she crazy? Actually…that sounds like fun._

Daryl stood up and starting walking inside. He stopped in the doorway. "We're gonna need more booze."

He's really going along with it? Beth looked at me with an excited look on her face. I forced a smile. I was still mad about earlier, but I wasn't about to take it out on her. As I said before, she didn't do anything.

I watched the two of them pour the moonshine all over the house. Daryl handed me a jar. I just dropped it on the floor and let it shatter. That will be fine.

We stood outside in the yard.

"You wanna?" Daryl handed Beth the matches.

"Hell, yeah." She lit the match then caught a stack of dollar bills that Daryl must have taken from that golf place on fire.

"You wanna throw it, Abby?" He asked me.

"No, thanks." I said roughly and turned away.

Daryl threw it on the porch and we watched the house light up. We had to leave shortly after because the dead were coming through.

So, the three of us walked off into the woods together, even though we weren't _together._ I wish I was in better spirits, but I just can't get what Daryl said to me out of my head. I wonder how long I will have this chip on my shoulder? Maybe I'll be the new Daryl? I silently laughed. Oh well, at least I'm not in the middle anymore.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

The passed few days have been weird. I was very distant. I still had that chip on my shoulder. I know it might seem like I was overreacting about the whole situation, but Daryl really hurt me by what he said. I didn't think he was like that. That's the kind of thing you could expect from someone like Merle. I know he's Daryl's brother and usually the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, the thing is, though, Daryl is nothing like his brother…or so I thought. Another thing is that I was really missing my dad about now.

Anyway, the nights were getting colder and we were searching for a place we could stay for at least a while.

"Are we close?" Beth asked Daryl. He was teaching her how to track. I say "her" and not "us" because I just wasn't interested at the moment. Beth had Daryl's crossbow.

"Almost done." Daryl replied.

"How do you know?"

"The signs are all there. Just got to know how to read 'em."

"What are we even trackin'?" Said Beth.

"You tell me." Daryl replied. She gave him an annoyed look. "Yer the one who wanted to learn." He said again.

"It's obviously a walker." I chimed in. "What else?"

"You don't know that." She said.

"Watch." I said smartly.

"You wanna do this?" Beth asked me.

"No, I don't need to."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I just don't want to." I said. "Go back to your tracking."

She looked back at the ground. "Well…somethin' came through here. The pattern is all zig-zaggy." She brightened up a little. "It _is_ a walker. You're right, Abby."

"Maybe it's a drunk." Daryl joked.

"I'm gettin' good at this." Beth said proudly even though I figured it out first. "Pretty soon we won't need you at all."

"Speak for yourself. I don't need him." I put my arms behind my head and walked ahead.

"Yeah, keep on trackin'." Daryl said.

Up ahead we spotted the walker we were tracking and stayed back.

"It's got a gun." Beth whispered. Daryl gestured for her to take care of it. She slowly crept up on the walker. Then, I heard a metal "cling" sound and Beth went down. I gasped. Her foot was caught in a trap! Daryl and I rushed in. He killed the walker and I tried prying open the trap, but I couldn't get it. Daryl finally got it off. Beth winced in pain.

"Can you move it?" Daryl asked her.

She hesitated. "Yeah, I think so."

* * *

Daryl helped Beth walk as I led the way out of the woods. I saw a cemetery up ahead. There was also a funeral home. "Check it out." I said.

We began walking towards it.

"Can we—can we hold up a sec?" Beth stopped us.

"You all right?" I asked her.

"I just need to sit down."

I watched her moving her foot around. This is not good. All we do out here is run, and that's hard enough but now Beth's hurt. What would happen if we ran into trouble? Not just with walkers either. People, they are the real threat out here.

"All right." Daryl said bringing me out of my reverie. "Hold up." He readjusted his crossbow so it was on his front. Then, he bent over. "Hop on."

I raised my eyebrows. _Really?_

"Are you serious?" Beth asked my unspoken question.

"Yeah. This is a serious piggyback. Jump up." He instructed her. She jumped onto Daryl's back. I let out a small laugh. "You're heavier than you look." Daryl said.

Beth giggled. "Maybe there are people there."

"Yeah, if there are, I'll handle them."

"There are still good people, Daryl."

"I don't think the good ones survive."

Beth suddenly got down off Daryl's back and stopped to look at something. I realized it was a tombstone that said, "beloved father" on it. I bit my lip as an attempt to hold back my tears and turned away. Daryl noticed, I wasn't quick enough. I miss my dad so much.

* * *

We stepped into the funeral home. The place was really nice. It was as if no one had ever been here.

"It's so clean." Beth said.

"I was just thinking that." I said.

"Yeah." Said Daryl. "Someone's been tending to it. May still be around."

The three of us made our way down to the basement. There was a dead body on a slab. Beth was staring at it.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I teased. She did not reply. I tried looking for supplies around the room.

"Let's get that ankle wrapped." Daryl said while opening a bag of gauze he found. He took notice to the body. "Looks like somebody ran out of dolls to dress up."

"It's beautiful." Beth said making everyone stop what they were doing.

"Huh?" I said.

"Whoever did this cared. They wanted these people to get a funeral. They remembered these things were people before all this. They didn't let it change them in the end."

I put my head down. I guess that is pretty nice. When I looked at Daryl, he had a weird look on his face. Was it embarrassment?

"Don't you think that's beautiful?" Beth asked us.

Daryl nodded. "Come on." He led her over to the counter so he could wrap her ankle.

I suddenly felt weird while watching the two of them. They were getting pretty close. I was pretty close with both of them before, but this time we are spending together can't be taken back. But it can get ruined and I'm ruining it. A feeling of sadness just now took over me on top of anger.

"I'm gonna go look for supplies." I said and headed upstairs.

"We should stay together." Beth called after me. "We haven't checked all the rooms yet." I ignored her.

* * *

I opened every cabinet in the kitchen and I finally found a bunch of food. I haven't seen so much in such a long time. I picked up a jar of peanut butter. I'm taking credit for this. I heard Beth and Daryl making their way into the room.

"You find anythin'?" Beth asked me.

"Hell yeah." I pointed.

"Whoa." They came over to see.

"Peanut butter and jelly, diet soda, and pig's feet." Daryl said. "That's a white trash brunch right there."

"It all looks good to me." Beth said.

"No, hold up." Said Daryl. "Ain't a speck 'a dust on this."

"So?" Beth said.

"That means somebody just put it here." Daryl reciprocated. "This is someone's stash."

I thought for a minute. "They could still be alive. Maybe they're coming back?"

"All right, we'll take some of it and we'll leave the rest, all right?" Daryl said.

"I knew it." Beth smirked.

"Knew what?"

"It's like I said. There are still good people."

Daryl put his finger into the jelly and ate some. "Mm."

I grimaced.

"Gross." Said Beth.

"Hey, those pig's feet are mine." Daryl said.

"Go ahead and be my guest." I said. "Those look foul." That was the first time in days that I talked to Daryl directly.

Beth giggled and then walked out of the room leaving Daryl and I alone. That hasn't happened in a while.

"Hey." He said. "How ya feelin'?"

I gave him a weird look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ya passed out."

"That was days ago." I said annoyed.

"I know but—

"I'm fine." I cut him off. "Okay?" I didn't try to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"All right. I'm just askin'"

"Why?" I know I should have just dropped it, but I didn't.

"'Cause I'm worried about you." He snapped.

"Since when?"

Daryl sighed. "You know, ya don't have to be such a smartass. I know ya miss yer dad, but you don't have to take it out on anyone else."

I gave him a stupid look. _Is he serious? That's why he thinks I'm upset with him?_ "Really? That's what you think?" I was furious. I don't need this. I grabbed a jar of peanut butter and began walking out of the room, but then I stopped and turned back around. "Fuck you." I said. I didn't give him a chance to respond before leaving the room and heading upstairs.

I picked a bedroom and locked myself in. I was so pissed off. I sat on the edge of the bed and opened the jar of peanut butter. Scooping some out with my finger, I popped it in my mouth. "What a jerk." I said out loud.

* * *

I have been up here by myself for a long time. At one point, I thought I heard music. It sounded like a piano and singing so I figured it was Beth. She used to sing all the time at the prison. I used to sing a lot, too, and I'm actually very good at it but there's not much to sing about these days.

Speaking of music, that gave me an idea. I pulled my iPod out of my pocket to see if it worked. No luck. Battery's dead. I sighed and put it away. I wish I had something to do up here to keep me occupied. There's no way I'm going down there to join them. I was still pissed but on top of that I was actually a little embarrassed. I looked right at Daryl in the eyes and told him to "fuck himself." Things might get a little awkward now. Well…more awkward.

I sighed and laid back on the bed. It was so comfy.

* * *

I did a lot of thinking while I was alone up here. And I have been in here for a while; I watched it get dark outside. I wondered what Beth and Daryl were doing now? I quickly shook that thought. I have decided that I'm not going to stick around with them. I'm going to tell them tomorrow morning that I'm staying here in this funeral home. If they decide to leave, that's on them but I'm staying. I really like it here. I haven't felt so at peace for a long time. Plus, I'm uncomfortable with our situation. Maybe one day I will catch up with them but as of right now, I think I need some time away from them, more specifically Daryl. Some time alone. I think it will do me some good.

Just then, I heard a commotion downstairs then heard Daryl yelling for Beth! My heart skipped a beat and I started breathing heavily. It took me a few minutes to collect myself.

I cautiously walked out of the room and slowly made my way down the stairs. I looked around but didn't see anyone. _Did they leave me?_ I thought I could hear noises somewhere.

"Beth?" I called "Daryl?"

No answer. I began to panic. _I hope nothing bad happened to them._

Just as I had that thought, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and braced myself. It was Daryl. He was running towards me. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Walkers!" He said.

My eyes widened. "Where's Beth?"

"She's outside already. Come on!"

Daryl and I ran out of the house and onto the street. A walker stopped us on the way, I killed it with my knife.

"Where is she?" I breathed. "You said she'd be here!"

He looked at me but didn't say anything. Suddenly, we saw Beth's backpack in the road. I panicked inside. Then, we heard tires screech and a car took off down the road.

"Beth!" Daryl yelled. "Beth!"

"Oh God! Beth!" We started running after the car.

"Beth!"

* * *

Daryl and I chased that car for miles. It was light out now and I was about dead. We got to a three way intersection and that's when I knew this was hopeless. We stopped to catch our breath. We were practically soaked with sweat. Daryl looked at me while panting. I just shook my head. He dropped his crossbow on the ground and sat down right where he was standing. I copied him.

We're done.

* * *

We sat there in the middle of the road for a long time. Neither of us talking. I guess we didn't have much to say. We were both tired.

I looked around as we were sitting there, and I saw a group of men walking towards us.

"Daryl." I said alarmed. He ignored me and kept his head down. "Daryl, there's people." He still didn't respond. I looked up at the men, they were getting closer. "Daryl, please." It was too late, they spotted us. Daryl didn't respond to me anyway.

"Well, lookit here." A gray haired man said. We were surrounded by five guys. I was breathing heavily. Daryl was acting like nothing happened.

The gray haired man reached for Daryl's crossbow. Suddenly, Daryl punched him square in the nose and held his crossbow up. I stood up quickly and faced the other way. I held my knife out. I don't know how much good it would do, every single guy there had guns, but it was all I had. They had their weapons up.

"Damn it, hold up!" The gray haired man said to his buddies. He wiped the blood from his nose then started laughing hysterically. I swallowed hard. _What the hell is going on?_

"I'm claimin' the vest." One of the guys said referring to Daryl's vest. "I like 'em wings." He laughed. I looked at him. "Hey, sweetheart." He winked at me. A chill went down my spine.

"Hold up." The gray haired man said again. "A bowman. I respect that. See, a man with a rifle, he could have been some kind of photographer or soccer coach back in the day. But a bowman's a bowman through and through."

I looked to and from Daryl and those guys. I was really nervous.

"What you got there, I'll be donkey-licked if that don't fire at least 300 feet per second. I've been looking for a weapon like that." He continued. "Of course, I'd want one with a bit more ammo and minus the oblongata stains."

The guy that spoke before about Daryl's vest laughed. "Get yourself in some trouble, partner?"

Daryl still had his crossbow up ready to shoot.

"You pull that trigger, these boys are gonna drop you several times over. That what you want? Come on, fella, suicide is stupid. Why hurt yourself when you can hurt other people?" He grinned evilly. "Name's Joe."

Daryl finally put his crossbow down so I put down my knife. "Daryl." Daryl told them his name.

"Y'all come with us now." Joe said. "We got plenty of room." He laughed.

I looked around and swallowed hard. I don't like these guys.

* * *

 **Hello there! Could y'all do me a little favor? I would like at least three reviews before my next update! That would be fantastic! So, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

I sat out on the train tracks looking up at the night sky. It was a full moon and there was a lot of stars out. It was beautiful. Peaceful. But…that was about the only good thing that night.

"Cain't sleep?" I heard Daryl say from behind me.

"...no."

"Me neither." He sat down across from me. For a while, neither of us said anything. We just listened to the noises of the night. I was never too fond of the sound of crickets. So, I decided to break the silence.

"Daryl…what are we doing with these guys? We don't need them. I don't trust them." I tried not to be too loud. Joe and the rest of the gang weren't too far from us. "We should just go, right now. They'd never know. Yeah, let's just—

"I know." Daryl cut me off. He glanced up to see if anyone heard him. "I know." He said again but quieter. "But we cain't. I was worried about what they'd do if we said no."

I sighed and looked down. "Well, I don't wanna be alone with any of them, especially Len." I shivered. I caught him eyeing me up on occasion. And Dan.

"Ya don't have to be." Daryl said. He looked up at the night sky. "I'm goin' huntin' as soon as it gets light."

I paused for a minute. "I'm sorry I told you to fuck off." I let out a nervous laugh.

"Fuck you."

"Huh?" I gave him a surprised look.

"I believe you said, 'fuck you'."

"Oh." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Aren't they basically the same thing?"

He snorted.

"Well, either way, I'm sorry." I looked down at my hands and nervously played with my fingers. "I just said it because," my lip began to quiver, "you really hurt my feelings what you said to me…back at that house." I got teary eyed as I remembered what happened between the three of us.

Daryl seemed to get a little nervous and cleared his throat. "What exactly was it that I said? I don't really remember."

I felt a little angry that he doesn't even remember. "You called me a butch."

"Is that all?" He snorted.

I shot him a dirty look even though he probably couldn't see it. "What do you mean 'is that all?' It was enough."

"I just don't—

"Look," I said cutting him off. I could feel another argument coming so I stopped it before it started. I sighed deeply. "I had a cousin…he was sort of like my Merle. He was really mean to me sometimes and he used to call me that. It always hurt my feelings and I guess, I guess it brought back some bad memories."

"Oh." Daryl said. He sounded embarrassed? There was an awkward pause. "Well, I'm sorry then. I didn't…"

"It's okay. We were all kinda drunk." I smirked. "That's why alcohol is bad. My family used to get in arguments all the time when they'd drink. No one could ever have a party or get together without alcohol."

"My family didn't have to have a party or get together to have alcohol." Daryl said. "It was just always there."

I let out a nervous laugh. "Let's just pretend it didn't happen and change the subject." I thought for a minute. "Did you really never get anything for Christmas?"

Daryl was quiet for a minute. "Merle once got me a bottle of whiskey."

"But I mean when you were a kid?"

"I was a kid." Daryl snorted.

"Oh." I blinked. That's awful. "So…you never got like some legos or a firetruck? Every little boy wants a firetruck." I laughed.

"No." Daryl said.

My mouth pressed into a thin line and I gave him a sympathetic look. "That's sad. I'm sorry."

Daryl looked a little awkward and stood up. "We should probably get some sleep before the sun comes up." He put his hand out to me. I took it, and he hauled me up.

* * *

The sound of a walker woke me up along with everyone else. There was one stuck on the fence we built. Joe killed it. I looked around for Daryl and began to panic when I didn't see him.

"Looks like that Robin Hood cat cut out on us after all." Tony said.

"I didn't think he had the sack to go out on his own." Len said.

"He don't." Said another. "Dude left his stuff here. Probably just stepped out to drop a morning deuce."

"He just went hunting." I said remembering our conversation last night. I got up and walked away to go use the bathroom. I had to go far enough away so none of those guys would follow me.

As I was making my way back, I heard a voice say, "hey, sweetie," and gasped. It was that Len guy. He was holding half of a rabbit.

I calmed down. "What do you want?"

"I was thinkin'," he took a few steps closer, "how's about you and me have some fun?"

I glared at him. "I'd rather die."

He laughed. "Come on, now. Let's get to know each other." He walked closer so he was very close to me now.

"No." I said firmly. I tried to walk away but he stepped in front of me. Now I was getting a little scared.

"Well, I say yes." He grinned evilly. He reached out and started playing with my hair. "Huh? What do ya say?"

I was breathing heavily. I was scared but tried not to show it. "I said, no. Back off." I glared.

We stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Finally, Len laughed and stood aside. I took my chance and hurried away. He grabbed my bottom as I walked passed him. I glared back at him then just quickly walked away.

I stopped behind a tree and started to cry. My nerves must be shook up. I hate guys like him. Why does he think he can touch me without my permission? I wondered how many girls he's raped in his life? Probably even before the turn. I calmed myself down and wiped away my tears.

"Abby." I heard Daryl say. I peeked out from behind the tree. "There you are. I been lookin' fer ya." I didn't say anything. Daryl must have been able to tell I'd been crying. "What's wrong?"

I just shook my head. Just then, Len came walking along behind us, he was whistling. He stopped when he noticed me and winked then walked on.

"What happened?" Daryl became angry. "Did he do soemthin' to you?" He turned and looked at Len walking away. "Hey!"

"No, Daryl." I grabbed his arm. "Please, just stop. Nothing happened. I promise. Nothing happened."

Daryl looked to and from me and Len angrily. "Come on." He finally said.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding then we went back to join the others.

* * *

"So what's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked him as we walked.

"How so?"

"You're with us now, but you ain't soon?"

"Yep."

I stayed back behind Daryl and listened to them talk.

"So what's the plan?"

"Just lookin' for the right place is all."

"Oh, we ain't good enough for you, huh?"

"Some of you ain't exactly friendly."

"You ain't so friendly yourself." Joe said to Daryl. "You know you need a group out here."

"Maybe we don't."

"No, you do. You should be with us. People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brothers in arms. We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed."

"W-what happens if you break 'em?" I finally spoke.

"Oh, you catch a beatin'." Joe replied. "The severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much 'cause when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours."

I swallowed hard.

"You shouldn't have to worry about that little lady." Joe said. "We wouldn't hurt you. But we're not used to having a woman around."

I gave him a weird look. Before I could say anything, Joe stopped and pointed at a car garage. "Right there. It's our abode for the evening."

"Hey." Daryl said to him. Joe stopped. "There ain't no us."

"You leaving right now?" Joe said. "No? Then it sure seems like there's an us." There was a brief pause. "You a cat person, Daryl? I am. Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothin' sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat."

Daryl stood there with his head down for a moment. Joe and everybody else went inside.

"Daryl?" I said. "Are we going inside?"

He glanced at me and nodded. "Come on."

* * *

There was some cars inside the garage. It'd be nice to sleep on a car seat than on the ground for once. Every time we approached a car, someone "claimed" it. I sighed. Daryl threw his bag on the ground and laid on it. I sat next to him.

"Oh come on." Joe said. "Why don't one of you guys be a gentleman and let the lady sleep in a car."

"She can sleep with me." Len said then laughed.

"Hey." Daryl glared.

I looked at Joe. "No, thanks. I'm fine."

"Suit yourself." Joe said.

I looked around. I felt awkward that we were in the middle of all these guys and became nervous. I sighed and just sat there with my head down.

* * *

As the time went on, Daryl went outside to go pee, I was scared to stay in there with those guys by myself so I walked over to where Joe was in his car. I wouldn't particularly say I liked the guy, but I trusted him more than any of the others. I was looking around at nothing trying to pretend like I was doing something. I absentmindedly turned around and I saw Len walking away from Daryl's bag. I narrowed my eyes. _What did he just do?_

Daryl came back shortly after and I decided not to tell him about Len. He already doesn't like him. I don't want to cause any problems. I could so see them getting into a fight.

"You've got to be kiddin' me." A voice said after sometime. Len walked over to where Daryl and I were. "Give it here."

"You step back." Daryl snapped. He stood up immediately.

"My half was in the bag." Len said. "Now it's gone. Now ain't nobody around here interested in no half a damn cottontail except you. Ain't that right?"

"You're the only one still thinkin' about that crap." Daryl yelled.

"Empty your bag." Len said.

"I said step back." Daryl yelled and grabbed the bag.

My eyes grew wide and my breathing quickened. "Daryl."

"Did you take his rabbit, Daryl?" Joe said. "Just tell me the truth."

"I didn't take nothin'." He snapped.

Joe grabbed the bag off of Daryl. "What do we got here? Come on." He dumped it on the floor. The other half of the rabbit that Len had fell out. My eyes got wide again. "Well, look at that." Joe said.

"You put that there, didn't you?" Daryl accused Len. "When I went out to take a piss."

Now I remember. "He did. I saw him walking away from our bag." I said.

"You lied." Len said. "And so did your bitch." He pointed at me. "You lied. You stole. We gonna teach this fool or what, Joe?"

I was panicking inside. Surely, they would take their friend's side over Daryl and I.

"Whoa, whoa." Joe said. "Now, Daryl says he didn't take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either he's lying, which is an actionable offense, or you didn't plant it on him like some pussy, punk-ass, cheating, coward cop, did you? 'Cause while that wouldn't be specifically breaking the rules, it'd be disappointing."

"It would, huh?" Len said. "I didn't."

"Good." Joe patted Len's shoulder. "Well…" Joe looked at Daryl and I. I waited in anticipation to see what was going to happen. I was scared and my nerves were very shaken. Then, Joe punched Len right in the face. I gasped. I was so surprised. "Teach him a lesson, gents. He's a lying sack of shit. I'm sick of it. Teach him all the way." All the other guys started beating up Len.

"I saw him do it." Joe turned to us.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" Daryl said.

"He wanted to play that out. I let him. You told the truth. He lied. You understand the rules. He doesn't." There was a brief pause. "Looks like you get the head, too." Joe tossed Len's half of the rabbit to Daryl.

Daryl and I shared a look. I heard squealing and looked back at Len getting beat to death. I grimaced and looked away. Daryl noticed.

"Let's go outside." He said. He put his hand on the back of my neck and guided me towards the door.

* * *

The next day, we got up earlier and headed out. We saw Len's mangled dead body outside. I gave Daryl a look then he grabbed a white sheet and was about to throw it over him but then stopped like he was thinking and threw the blanket aside. We moved on.

Joe and Daryl were talking. I always stayed close to Daryl because, even with Len gone, these guys still kind of scare me.

Joe handed Daryl his flask and he took a sip. "White Lightning." Joe said. "Easiest thing to make with the least amount of supplies. I'd start slow if I was you. Your stomach's probably emptier than you think."

"Mmm. I ain't been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart." Daryl said.

"Fell apart? I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for guys like us. Living like this, surviving. We've been doing this from the start, right?"

No one said anything.

"So, you two related or something?" Joe asked us.

"Friends." I said.

"Hmm. You still stickin' with us?" He asked again.

"Not sure." Daryl said.

"We're looking for someone." I reminded him.

Back on the road, we saw a sign that said, _Terminus. Sanctuary for all. Community for all._

"Getting closer." Tony said.

"You seen this before?" Daryl asked.

"Oh, yeah." Joe replied. "I'll tell you what it is. It's a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. Ain't gonna welcome guys like you and me with open arms."

Daryl and I shared a look. Our people could be there!

"So is that where we're headed?" I asked.

"So now you're asking?" Joe said.

"That's right." Daryl answered for me.

Joe paused and looked at me. "We're lookin' for someone, too. We were in a house minding our own business and this walking piece of fecal matter was hiding in the home." Joe informed us. "Strangled our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all of us. He lit out. We tracked him to these tracks, one of those signs, and thus we've got a destination in mind."

"You see his face?" Daryl asked.

"Only Tony." Joe said. "That's enough for a reckoning."

There was a tomato growing on a plant by the tracks. One of the guys went to grab it but Daryl said, "claimed," and grabbed it first.

"Now you're gettin' the hang of it." Joe patted Daryl's back then walked on.

I smiled at Daryl. Maybe these guys aren't so bad and maybe things will be all right from now on, especially with Len gone.

* * *

 **Thanks everyone for the reviews, favs and follows! There's only one more chapter left of this story! So please give me a review! They are much appreciated! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

It's been a few days since we have joined Joe's group. Everything had been all right. We got along okay. The only person I was still wary of was Dan. He seemed to give me glances, looking me up and down and that. It creeps me out sometimes. But I just stay close to Daryl. I know he would never let anything happen to me.

So, anyway, we stopped in a house that we could maybe stay for a few nights. Maybe even just one night. That's good enough for me. Joe is still looking for the guy that killed one of his friends. Daryl says that once he finds him, we will leave their group. I feel bad for whoever that guy is. After seeing what they did to Len…man, I'd hate to be him.

We checked out the house. Daryl and I went upstairs. There were four bedrooms and they were all clear.

"I'm claiming one of these beds." I said.

"Me too." Daryl said. I laughed.

We went back downstairs to join the others. "It's all clear." I informed them.

"Down here too." Said Joe.

Daryl nodded. "There's four bedrooms. Me and Abby already claimed the back two."

"That ain't fair." Tony said. "We didn't hear it."

"Well, we said it now." I said.

"And we didn't get a chance to see 'em." Harley said.

"Come on, guys." Joe said. "You really wanna take a bed from a lady? Leave 'er alone."

The guys were mad but finally let it go.

"Hell, she can sleep with me." Dan said. I gave him a disgusted look then he laughed.

"Hey." Daryl glared at him.

Dan laughed again then went about his business like the others.

"We might be stayin' in the same room tonight." Daryl whispered to me. "Need to keep an eye on 'em."

I let out a small laugh. That would be awesome.

"Well, look what I found in the basement!" Billy yelled holding various bottles of alcohol.

"Woohoo!" The other cheered and laughed. "It's a party."

Daryl and I shared a look. This can't be good.

* * *

It was getting later and later as we all sat around and drank. Dan and Tony went outside a while ago and haven't come back in so they probably passed out on the back porch. Daryl and Joe were in the living room having some conversation that I couldn't hear, and I was sitting at the dining room table with Billy and Harley. I was sitting in between them and they kept trying to get me to drink more.

"You ever try this?" Billy held up a bottle of liquor.

"Um…no, I don't think."

"Ya gotta have some then." He poured me a shot.

I was already pretty tipsy, and I didn't want to get shitfaced. "Oh no. I-I don't—

"Come on, have some fun, little girl." He gave Harley a shot and they both held them up. I stared at mine.

"Come on. What could it hurt?" Harley said.

I sighed. "Okay."

They cheered and the three of us "clinked" then we drank our shots. I grimaced and looked away. It burned my throat. They laughed at me.

"Ready for another?"

"No." I said immediately and shook my head.

"Aw, come on. Don't be a pussy."

I knew they wouldn't leave me alone. "Fine but this is the last one." I took it.

"Why? You gotta be at school in the morning?" Harley said then they both laughed.

"Maybe it's passed her bedtime." Billy said. They both laughed hard at me. I was getting mad.

"Shut up, assholes." I snapped. "I'm not even drunk right now. I could drink all night."

"Well why don't ya then?" Harley teased.

I hesitated. "…gimme the bottle."

"Ha-hoo." Billy said handing me the bottle of whiskey. "Pour a shot."

"Don't need to." I said. "Who needs a glass?" I tipped the bottle and took a big slug.

"Hell yeah!" Harley said. "Now it's a party."

I laughed and took another gulp.

* * *

"Aw, yeah, I used to do that shit all the time back in the day." Billy said.

"Same. Those were the good times."

I had my head down on the table and I was listening to Billy and Harley's conversation. "I-I can't lift my head up." I slurred. They didn't seem to pay attention to me.

"Oh no. What did you guys do?" I heard Joe say.

"Just havin' some fun." Billy said.

"I…" I slowly lifted my head. "I-I drank this whole bottle." I kind of laughed.

"Abby, what are you doin'?" Daryl said.

"Uh…" Was all I said.

"Come on, you had enough." Daryl said taking ahold of my arm.

"I can't get up."

"Yeah, ya can." He pulled me up and helped me walk. We went over to the stairs then he stopped. "What the hell were you thinkin' gettin' like that with them guys?"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

Daryl sighed. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"Oh. I can't walk up there." I whined.

Daryl made a sound of clear annoyance and lifted me. He carried me up the stairs. I giggled.

"Here." He put me on the bed.

"Thank you, Daryl."

"Yeah, I gotta take a piss." He informed me. "Will you be all right for a minute?"

"Uh huh." I nodded.

Once Daryl left the room, I looked around. I bet I could sit on the roof if I went out the window. I opened it and climbed out. The night air felt so nice. "Ah." I said then sat down. I looked up at the night sky, there were a lot of stars out that night. So, peaceful. I leaned back.

"Abigail, what the hell…" I heard Daryl say.

"Come out here with me." I said.

"What?"

"Come on. Sit with me." I smiled.

He gave me a look then slowly climbed out the window and sat down next to me. Things were quiet for a minute. "You can see the stars real good tonight."

"Yeah." Daryl said. "How'd you get out here? You were so drunk ya couldn't walk up the stairs."

"Guess I wasn't as drunk as I thought. I didn't really drink that whole bottle myself." I looked at him. "I just wanted you to carry me." I joked.

He smirked. "I knew it."

I laughed.

We were quiet again.

"Thanks for…getting me out of there." I broke the silence. "They were trying to get me stupid drunk."

"Yeah, why would you do that?" Daryl glared at me. "One 'a them coulda tried somethin' with ya."

"Well, what was I supposed to do?"

"How about say no?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, cuz that always works."

"Hey," Daryl said making me look at him, "don't do it again." He pointed his finger at me.

"Okay." I put my hands up then laughed.

Daryl laid back and put his hands behind his head. I copied his movements.

"This is nice." He said. "I should sleep out here tonight."

"What if you roll off in your sleep?"

"I ain't gonna roll sideways."

I laughed. "You can just spread those wings on your back and fly away."

"Yer lame." He elbowed me making me giggle.

"Oh! That just reminded me." I sat up and reached into my pocket pulling out a keychain. "Here." I handed it to him.

He sat up. "What's this?" He said examining it.

"It's a keychain that got angel wings on it. It matches the ones on your vest. I found it in a house and it reminded me of you."

"Yer givin' this to me?" Daryl sounded surprised.

"Yeah. Merry Christmas." I smiled.

He gave me a look then he looked away quickly. I think he was getting emotional. I had to think of something to say to make this not awkward.

"It's nothing great, I just…

"Thank you." He nodded. "Yer a sweetheart."

"Well, I wanted you to know that…you're appreciated." I smiled.

"Yeah?" He put his hand on the back of my neck.

"Yeah." I smiled. Daryl kept his hand there and occasionally would rub my neck with his thumb. It felt good and it was making me a little excited, I'm not going to lie.

Just then, I looked up and saw a shooting star. "Did you see that?" I asked excitedly. "There was a shooting star!"

"No, I missed it." Daryl said. "Oh, look another one. Wow, look at that."

I suddenly felt very sick to my stomach and while Daryl was distracted looking at the sky, I got up and went to the side of the roof. I bent over and soon after, I puked. Daryl was there in a second, he wrapped his arm around my waist, I guess so I wouldn't fall, then he rubbed my back.

"Come on. Let it out." He said. "That's it."

I finally finished throwing up and straightened up. "Sorry."

"It's okay. It happens." Daryl reassured me.

I kept my head down. "Please don't look at me. I'm embarrassed."

"Abby, it's not a big deal."

"I need a tissue."

"Here." Daryl pulled out his bandana and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I said weakly. I wiped my mouth with it.

"Come on. I think it's time to go in." Daryl helped me inside.

 _Damnit! Why'd I have to get sick and ruin our time together? That was getting good._ I sighed.

* * *

We set out the next day. Surprisingly, I wasn't sick. I actually was feeling really good with our talk last night. Daryl and I were closer than ever! And to think just a few days ago we argued and resented each other and I was going to leave on my own. Good thing I didn't. I love the friendship we have and I wouldn't have it any other way.

We walked around with Joe's group for the whole day. He said we were catching up to the guy he was looking for. I'm not looking forward to that.

"We've got 'im." Joe said. It was dark by now.

"Alright." Daryl said. "We're gonna hang back." He grabbed my arm. "Come on."

Joe and the others walked on. I could hear him talking to the people he found. Something made me look back.

"Daryl, wait." I stopped him. "I got a weird feeling. I-I think we should…see who they are."

"You think?"

"Yeah."

We made our way back over to where Joe was holding up the people. From what I could see there were two of them and one in the car, I think. Wait a minute…is that…?

"Daryl?" I said alarmed.

"Yeah, I see."

We quickly walked out there.

"Joe." Daryl stopped him.

Joe had his gun to the man's head. The man looked up at us when Daryl spoke.

My eyes widened. "Dad?"

* * *

 **The End**

 **PLEASE READ:**

 **Thank you all for the reviews, favorites and follows! I appreciate it more than you know! I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed by the end but I only ended it like that because I have another Abby story called Together where I wrote that scene and I just didn't want to write it twice. So, if you want to, check out my story Together! It would be greatly appreciated! :)**


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